National Republican., 1887-03-24
TIE SILVER QUESTION.
HOW the Standard Dollars Can DO
Withdrawn from Use.

EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN The
whole burden Of the arguments made In
Congress by the opponents Of free and un-
limited coinage Of silver has been that It
would attract silver to this country and
draw away our gold, or, to give the words
used in tho debate upon the question, ''it
would make America the dumping ground
for the silver OF the world"
The friends of silver have been able to
accomplish nothing during the session just
closed. All the OWLS resulting from the
adoption Of the British policy OF dishonor-
continue, and gain, IL anything, added force.
We have so far bllndIy followed the lead OF
our greatest commercial rival, and the
farmers Of our country are suffering from
one end OF the country to the other by the
destruction Of values caused by our neglect
to stand for the right, and our too great
Willingness to adopt a policy based entirely
upon theories formulated by minds not at
s1l friendly to American progress.
All Of the great staple productions Of our
farms are so low in price the price paid to
the producers-as TO leave no margin OF
profit to the farmers This is true Of wheat,
cotton, corn, and meat.
To the farmers who are in debt, aud that
is o majority OF all, this bears with great
This should be an era OF uuexampled
prosperity, for peace and plenty never more
abounded than now. There are no wars,
and even though so many rumors be flying
about impending conflicts peace still reigns,
Famine and pestilencc are not abroad.
There Is believed to be an abundance OF
money, and In our own country 1t Is all Of
unquestioned soundness and value notwith.
standing the assertions Of the enemies who
all In the inglorious cry OF those whose
greatest ambition is to cripple America.
More destructive to us have these false
friends been than all those who are aiding
the Golden Club TO break down that safe
guard, our protective tariff.
BY denouncing the "dollar OF our fathers''
the dollar Of Washington and Adams-as
buzzard dollar, they are effectually doing
the work the enemies OF America would
have done, as they do, who aid the Golden
Club In denouncing our protective system.
And now, with the refinement OF cruelty,
they are charging that the very evils result
ing from the adoption Of British ideas as to
silver are caused by our tariff system.
In proof OF this, note the first and second
planks adopted by the Farmers Assembly
Of Virginia, denouncing protective tariff as
robbery.
Not one OF those farmers, It Is presum-
able, was aware OF the fact that more than
9,500,000 pounds Of new cotton were i'm
untaxed, for there is no duty on raw cot.
ton.
Little do they seem to realize that they
are competing with the poorly fed, lightly
clad Indian vy0t, who can live on Q cents
per diem, and little do they reck that this
open composition in our own markets, as
well as In the markets OF Europe, Is alone
made possible by the scheme Of the British
Statesmen to undervalue silver In London,
while in Asia, where 1t constitutes the only
money Of the people, 1t maintains its full
value, and will, 1t is stated on the highest
authority, purchase as much as when silver
bullion was at par with silver coin In Lon
don.
1t virtually amounts to bonus Of about
80 per cent. In favor Of the exporter Of In-
dian products.
Mr.. Bret Harte would call this "being
ruined by Chinese cheap labor"
It comes pretty near it.
How long is free America to be controlled
by Mugwumps, who are SO inspired with
English ideas that they forget their very
blrthright2
The men who falsely prophesied in 1878,
and often since, that our limited coinage act
would drive gold away from their country,
have seen our gold supplies nearly doubled
already, since the adoption Of that act.
How many Of them know, Mr.. Editor, the
cause which kept gold bullion at par with
Golfers Of the world by Californian and Aus
tralian mires?
This was so true that the miner knew
what his ounce Of gold was worth before he
got 1t.
The British parliament, In renewing the
charter ofthe Bank OF England in 1884, pro-
vided that 1t should buy all gold offered at
value. (see Chambers Encyclopedias, title
WBk. of Epg,u)
commercial world, even when Germany
demonetized gold in 1857, and Its market
value was, unchanged, while the output Of
gold was SO much greater than that Of
silver, and yet there was no more gold sent
to London In consequt nee OF that act. The
did.
No greenbacks were sent for redemption,
so far as to affect our treasury In the least.
No one cared to change the convenient
treasury note, which was by law as good as
gold coin.
We will now proceed to show that the
passage Of an act by Congress providing
for the free and unlimited coinage Of silver
by our mints would not only not draw sill
yer to us, but would, on the contrary, draw
our standard dollars from us, and no silver
would be taken to.Americau mints except
for coinage into minor coins.
Let us remember that our dollars, being
at higher ratio as to gold than any Eu
ropean coinage, and that before our civil
war, with free and open mints, our stand
ard dollars were drawn from us as fast as
issued by that law which governs money
and causes 1t to flow to the place 1t is valued
highest.
Silver being at par with coin in Europe,
where the highest coin ratio is but 15I
ounces to of gold Ut being but 14.2S
o.. 20 4 xxVI,f 10 tNntn kN1
1t was inevitable that they should be drawn
to where they would be worth more than
here.
American dollars were sold at 10 per cent.
premium by Virginia merchants. Their
scarcity can be well remembered.
The same laws govern trade to day. Can
any American doubt that the first result of
such a law as the act referred to would be
to put silver bullion at par with coin.
Ours Is the richest treasury In the world,
and we are fully prepared to do this great
work.
II any doubt such q result following the
act, let them point to any considerable
amount Of silver which could be sent to
America. VIII any nation send Its worn,
home, and not only current but absolutely
essential to their own well'being-to be sold
for gold, giving 10 ounces for II
1t Is impossible. No country has q sur
plus Of coin. Even India, which absorbed
S52,000,000 in silver in 1885 out Of total
output Of all the mines of the world OF
S115,000,000, of that metal could take
vastly more. So essential is silver In the
daily exchanges of the world that Great
Britain, with her small territory, uses more
silver than all America, for the simple
reason that small bills are not used there as
here, the smallest Bank of England notes
being f5, say $25. All their coin being
more or less worn, even II they could spare
1t no European treasury is in condition to
assume the loss conversion into gold
would entail.
Inquiry will demonstrate the fact that
there Is nowhere any large stock of silver